Receivers praise Ryan Tannehill for velocity, accuracy of throws

Listen to the Dolphin receiving corps and it’s easy to reach the conclusion that Ryan Tannehill is quickly making up for lost time in the battle for the starting quarterback job.

Veterans Davone Bess and Legedu Naanee both gave Tannehill high marks Monday after Tannehill wrapped up only his second practice after missing the first two days of training camp due to a contract holdout.

Asked about Tannehill’s arm strength, both Bess and Naanee spoke highly of what Bess called the “pop” and Naanee the “zip” on his throws. But both then went a step farther without much prodding.

“He’s really accurate as well,” Bess said. “He can throw to the back shoulder, the near number _ wherever he needs to put the ball, he’ll get it there. That’s one of his attributes.

“Especially if you’re running into a zone and (you’re) not supposed to be, he can slow you down by putting it on your other shoulder. Little stuff like that adds up.”

Naanee had praise for the mental acuity of Tannehill, who at one point was planning to major in pre-med at Texas A&M before realizing the workload wouldn’t mesh well with his hopes to play in the NFL.

“He’s sharp, real sharp,” Naanee said. “He definitely understands the offense. He understands what the defense is trying to make him do and he can identify it quickly. He’s going to be good.”

When Bess was asked if he’s seeing why Tannehill was a first-round pick, he replied, “Definitely. He has that gunslinger mentality _ get the ball quick and let it go.”

Players were once again in pads Monday but Tannehill will have to wait until at least Wednesday for that next step after his 48-hour delay in reporting. But no matter – he wears the red shirt of a quarterback who isn’t allowed to be hit.

One intriguing decision coaches must make between now and Saturday is how they split up the quarterbacks for the intrasquad scrimmage at Sun Life Stadium. Whoever winds up on the same team with Pat Devlin, whose only chance of sticking around appears to be on the practice squad, is likely to get the most work while the other two quarterbacks are likely to split the workload down the middle.

[…] Tannehill is a longshot in the Dolphins QB competition, but the first year player has earned some high praise in the early stages of camp. No matter who wins the starting QB job, first year head coach Joe Philbin figures to be longing […]